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Yunho is entirely awake when the door creaks open, but he keeps his eyes closed, curious but content in his position.
“Is Jeong Yunho here?” a soft voice asks.
“Yes, he is. You may come in,” Yunho hears the nurse speak.
The person who enters is hesitant, as there’s a long pause before any steps are taken. Even then, the person doesn’t approach Yunho right away, slowly shuffling about the room before even getting close to Yunho’s bed.
“How is he?”
“He’s doing well. We just have to go through a few more minor treatments and have him rest. He’ll be good to go by tomorrow,” the nurse responds reassuringly.
“Thank you so much,” he says.
“I’m going to take a break. He took a little bit of medicine to help with one of our procedures, but otherwise, he’s awake,” the nurse adds. Yunho’s lip twitches at his cover being blown.
Yunho hears the shuffle of the nurse’s uniform as she leaves the room. The door closes with a quiet click, and the low hum of the machinery fills up the room.
Hesitantly, Yunho peeks one eye open. He blinks a couple of times to accustom himself to the natural light, and to make sure that the sight in front of him is true. Standing at the foot of his bed is a man with raven hair gazing out of the window. The late afternoon sun adorns his face, making his skin glow and accentuating his full features.
Through Yunho’s fuzzy vision, he looks like an angel.
Yunho’s breath stills because he is so beautiful. More breathtaking than any painting he’s ever seen, the man would be nonpareil even in the Vatican Museum. Yunho wonders if he is real. He wouldn’t be surprised if he disappeared at any moment.
But the man remains visible and still. He blinks, long eyelashes delicately sweeping over the tops of his cheeks. Yunho shifts in his bed out of mild discomfort and the man turns his head to him. A warm look fills his shining eyes, and Yunho is absolutely stunned.
“Are you my guardian angel?” Yunho asks, hopeful.
The man smiles, but he shakes his head. “No, unfortunately not.”
Yunho tries to frown, but his facial muscles are tired, so his expression ends up forming something resembling a pout. He wants to refute the other’s statement, but the other is unfortunately right as reality dawns on him; he doesn’t even possess a pair of wings or halo.
The world must really be unfair if a man this beautiful isn’t even an angel.
The man blushes. Yunho feels his face heat up, too. He must have accidentally said that out loud.
“Who are you, then?” Yunho asks.
“You’ll find out eventually,” he only responds.
The man approaches Yunho’s bed and gently grazes the back of his hand against Yunho’s cheek. He feels so warm and familiar against his skin. Yunho wouldn’t mind it if he was touched like this forever.
“Are you sure you’re not an angel? You’re so kind and beautiful and you make me feel so warm and safe and your voice makes me so sleepy,” Yunho rambles.
The man only chuckles. He cups Yunho’s cheek with his palm, thumb swiping back and forth against his soft skin.
Yunho’s breathing slows a little but his face twists slightly as he speaks up again, “I hate hospital beds; sleeping has been so hard here. It feels like I haven’t slept in years.”
He keeps his voice low, “It’s okay to sleep.” It’s as if his voice is lined with fine velvet, soft and smooth, a tone that relaxes Yunho immensely.
Yunho sighs and closes his eyes.
“But then you’ll leave,” Yunho mumbles.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he says.
Yunho opens his eyes. “Promise?”
“Yes, I promise. Go to sleep, Yunho. It’s okay,” he whispers.
His hand moves to stroke Yunho’s hair, which must be awfully mussed up and unkempt. However, his fingers comb through his hair in repetitive, smooth motions, not getting stuck once. Like this, Yunho feels his eyelids getting heavier as they slip shut from the soothing gesture.
He eventually falls asleep.
The medicine wears off when Yunho awakens the following morning. In the afternoon, a nurse enters his room to record the last of his vitals before he is unhooked from the machinery and discharged.
Yunho changes out of the hospital gown and into his own set of clothes that he wore before the procedure. When he’s finished, the nurse gives him some water and encourages him to drink as she leads him to the waiting room.
Yunho’s face beams once he sees Seonghwa sitting there with their manager beside him.
There’s some paperwork to be filled out before Yunho’s discharge is finalized. The manager signs it all as Yunho and Seonghwa head to the hospital’s cafeteria.
“We missed you a lot,” Seonghwa says. “Is it true that you almost bit Mingi when he visited?”
Yunho winces as he recalls the unfateful visit. “I think I was in a lot of pain. You just reminded me that I need to profusely apologize to him when we get back.”
“It’s alright. He wouldn’t stop laughing about it as he explained everything to us,” Seonghwa chuckles. He adds with amusement, “You probably don’t remember, but I visited you yesterday.”
Yunho tries to remember what happened yesterday, but can’t recall a single detail. Seonghwa’s expression tells him that something definitely happened, however. Yunho is almost willing to get away with never knowing what it is.
“Did I end up trying to bite you, too?” Yunho asks with apprehension.
Seonghwa laughs brightly as Yunho’s stomach twists nervously.
“No, not at all. You were very nice to me, actually.”
Yunho feels his ears redden, but his lips twist into a secretive smile. He can’t bring himself to say it now, maybe one day when he is truly well and brave enough, but out of everyone, Yunho is glad that Seonghwa was the one who came.